National Parks

Belize's
natural environment is perhaps its most precious resource. Each
district contains several protected areas which enable scientists of
all disciplines and visitors who love the outdoors to walk through the
flora and witness the fauna firsthand. At the left, the
beautiful 300 meter
Falls (1,000 ft) Hidden Valley Fall.

always
click to enlarge

With
the
support of numerous
environmentally conscious organizations,
such as, the Audubon Society, the Smithsonian Institute, the World
Wildlife Fund, and many zoological societies, Belize has become an
internationally recognized leader in the preservation and conservation
of its environment.

The Belize Nature and National Parks

Choose here from the many of the
protected areas of Belize which are open to
the public and are set up for visitors to hike, bird watch, swim,
canoe, or simply take in their surroundings.

The Belize Zoo is
refuge and rehabilitation
center for injured wildlife, as well as a home for abused and abandoned
"pets". Because there are
healthy populations of certain species of
wildlife in Belize, it is easy (though also illegal) for people
to
acquire birds and animals which they attempt to domesticate for their
own personal pleasure.

People are most often unable to tame
these
animals, or they grow tired of their "pets." The Belize Zoo has played
a major role in saving the lives of these animals by providing a new
home for these orphans who are most often cant rehabilitated to their
natural home in the wild.

You can easily travel cost effective in
35 minutes from Belize
City
with a Bus
direction Belmopan.
There is a Bus Stop in Front of the Zoo. By rented
car, follow the Western Highway to about Mile 28 (45 km), then look for
a Zoo sign and drive to the right in the parking spot. Open daily 9 to
4:30 pm.

Cockscomb Basin
Jaguar Reserve

Belize's
jaguar reserve is a wildlife sanctuary
established in 1984, etched in the middle of the jungle, south of
Dangriga. The visitor's entrance to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife
Sanctuary is
located at Maya Centre, which is at Mile 15 on the Southern Highway in
the Stann Creek District.

Situated within the shadows of the Maya
Mountains, the sanctuary encompasses some 100,000 acres of tropical
moist forest that rises from 300 feet (100 m above sea level to
approximately 3,675 fett (1225 m) at the summit of Victoria Peak. The
sanctuary is home to numerous members of the cat family and there is
also a large population of mammals and birds to support the food chain.

Cockscomb Basin
Wildlife Sanctuary is located off the Southern Highway between Dangriga
and Placencia.
You can easily travel cost effective in 3.5 hours from
Belize
City with a direction Punta
Gorda. After leaving Dangriga,
request the Bus
to stop at Maya Center. Pay your entrance fee and then
hire a local taxi from the village. The actual park is six miles down a
dirt road.

By rented car the journey takes approximately 2.5 hours. A four-wheel
drive is recommended and necessary in wet weather. Take the Western
Highway out of Belize
City. Then turn left onto the Hummingbird Highway
and then change six miles before Dangriga
to the Southern Highway
direction Punta
Gorda. Stop in Maya Center, pay your entrance fee and
drive the six miles down on the dirt road.

Community Baboon
Sanctuary

The Community
Baboon Sanctuary on the banks of the Belize River is located some
thirty miles west of Belize City off the Northern Highway in the Belize
District. Consisting of some eighteen square miles of basically
subsistence farms, the sanctuary exhibits the spirit of coexistence
that Belizeans have with nature.

Through a
grassroots effort, the villagers and landowners have
committed to preserving the habitat necessary to insure a healthy
population of Black Howler Monkeys. With assistance from the WWF
and
the Zoological Society of Milwaukee County, a small natural history
museum and visitor's center has been erected in Bermudian Landing,
which is the most central location in the sanctuary.

There's no public
transport to the Community Baboon Sanctuary. If you use a Rental Car
and you start your journey in Belize
City, then take the Northern
Highway. About 5 miles (8 km) past Ladyville, turn left towards Burrell
Boom. Continue through Burrell Boom, and Scotland Half Moon and further
to the Sanctuary headquarters.

Crooked Tree
Wildlife Sanctuary

Established
for the protection of resident and migrant birds, the Crooked Tree
Wildlife Sanctuary is located 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Belize City
off the
Northern Highway in the Belize District. The most notable
migratory resident is the Jabiru Stork. With a wingspan of 3-4 meter
(10-12 feet), it is the largest flying bird in North America.

Consisting of a large network of inland
lagoons, swamps, and waterways,
the sanctuary provides both the abundant food sources and the safe
resting area that is necessary to support a large and diverse
population of birds. Luckily, Belize has the largest nesting population
of Jabirus in Central America. When the rain comes in May, many birds
leave to
return again in November.

You can easily travel cost effective in
60 minutes from Belize
City
with a direct Bus
to the Crooked Tree Village. Accommodation is
available in Crooked Tree. By rented car, us the Northern Highway and
then turn west at Mile 33. Take the dirt road marked by a
wooden signpost. Open from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m

Five Blues Lake
National Park

The Five Blues Lake
National Park is located in a most impressive setting in the
forest-covered foothills of the Maya Mountains and it was established
in 1992. It is a pristine tract of karst terrain, honeycombed
with unexplored cave systems and teeming with spectacular wildlife.

The attraction
of the park is the karstic lake. The lake was a cenote,
a collapsed cave system also known as a blue hole. The lake showcased
five unique shades of blues hence the name Five Blues Lake. Read that
name carefully: the park has a lake with five shades of blue, not five
lakes all the same color ("Five Blue Lakes"). It is believed that the
lake was formed as the result of some blockage of an underground water
way, which is a normal feature in karstic landscape.

Over 200 species of birds
have been identified in the park and all five of Belize’s wildcats are
known to make their homes within its boundaries. Inside the tangle of
broadleaf trees, howler monkeys, tapir, gibnut, peccary and armadillo
roam in a kaleidoscope of liana, bromeliads and orchids.

In
the middle of June 2006 the Water despaired completely in the karstic
ground of the limestone formations of the lake. All in all the lake
level has come down roughly 15 feet (5 m) and reduced to approximately
to one quarter of its original surface. This is just something that can
happen to karstic lakes. This Picture at was taken end of
July 2006.

Nearly a year after the disappearing act,
a early Wednesday morning end
of June 2007, villagers passing through the National Park noticed that
the lake had suddenly filled with water.

Getting
There

You can easily
travel cost effective in 60 minutes from Belize
City to
Belmopan.
From there you take a Bus
to direction South to Dangriga.
On
Mile 32 on the Hummingbird Highway about 22 miles (35 km) southeast of
Belmopan you have to leaf the Bus opposite Over-the-Top Bar. Try to
rent a mountain Bike on the entrance to St. Margaret's Village, because
it's about 6 miles (9,5 km) north along a winding track through acres
of citrus plantations. The Trip can also easily be done with a rental
Car.

Guanacaste
National Park

The
Guanacaste National Park is a fifty acre parcel of tropical forest
located on the north side of the Western Highway at its junction with
the Hummingbird Highway in the Cayo District. The park is named for the
giant guanacaste (tubroos) tree growing near the southwestern edge of
the park.

In addition to the guanacaste tree, there
are numerous other species of trees throughout the park. Although the
mammal population is rather small, over one hundred species of birds
have been identified within the park. Guanacaste Park offers a
relaxing introduction to the tropical forests
of Belize because it is easily traversed, it has well marked and
maintained trails and many of the trees and plants have been identified
with their own name tag.

The Guanacaste
National Park is easily accessed by private vehicles or bus. Take a Bus
from Belize
City to Belmopan
and leave the bus at the intersection of
the Hummingbird and Western Highways. Open from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m

Mountain Pine
Ridge

The
Mountain Pine Ridge is 300 square miles of forest reserve that is south
of the Western Highway in the Cayo District. Its easye to acess from
San Ignacio Town. In 1924 Forests Act is passed. 20 years later, the
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve was established to protect and
manage the native pine forest as one of the first reserves.

The Mountain Pine Ridge is home to the
Hidden Valley Fall. a 300 meter (1,000 ft) Fall, the Rio On River, the
Rio On Pools, and the Rio Frio
Cave and Nature Trail, as well as numerous small streams and
waterfalls. Besides offering magnificent vistas, the cooler
temperatures along with a refreshing swim can provide a welcome respite
to the travel weary visitors. Many nature trails and impressive
destinations make Mountain Pine Ridge the ideal place for hiking and
horseback riding, while the many rivers that run through it are great
for canoeing and kayaking.

The
Rio Frio Cave, is the most impressive river caves in Belize and
located just a short ride from the Mountain Pine Ridge's entry. After
you come into the cave's 65 foot (20 m) arched
entryway, you can see numerous pools and falls and large stalactites
which hang all through the quarter-mile long cave.

Because the tensed security situation
with Guatemala criminals, you will always find police and military
presence in Caracol and the
Mountain Pine Ridge.

Getting
There

There's no public
transport to the Mountain Pine Ridge. You can take easily a Bus
from
Belize
City to San
Ignacio where you will find affordable Hotels. Many
licensed Tour Operators will offer you a Tour to the Mountain Pine
Ridge, mostly combined with the Maya Site Caracol.

By rented car, follow the Western Highway to Belmopan
and further to
San
Ignacio. You can easily find at Hotel in San Ignacio. Leave very
early in the Morning, then drive back over the Hawksworth Bridge to
Santa Elena 1 mile (1.5 km) the turn right the road to Cristo Rey and
San Antonio villages , at Mile Marker 10, you will come to the entrance
to the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. We strongly recommend you
have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, because the roads can get pretty muddy
and slick in the wet season.

Rio Bravo
Conservation and Management

The Belize Rio
Bravo Conservation and Management Area is located in the northwest
corner of Belize in the Orange Walk District. The area consists of
broadleaf forest, swamp forest, palm forest,
savannah, marsh and the home to 200 species
of trees and 70 different species of mammals.

The Area is consisting of some 202,000
acres, the area is managed for
conservation, scientific research, sustained-yield timber harvesting,
non timber forest product extraction, ecotourism, and educational
purposes by the Programme for Belize which is a private nonprofit
Belizean organization.

Due to its remote
location and the elimination
of
hunting, many endangered species - Black Howler Monkeys, Central
American Spider Monkeys, Jaguars, Pumas, Ocelots, Margays, Jaguarundis,
Tapirs, Pecarries, Ocellated Turkeys and Brocket Deer have found
refuge within the Conservation Area.

The Belize Rio
Bravo Conservation and Management Area is also a
bird watcher's paradise, ornithologists have recorded over 355 species
of birds.

There's no public
transport to the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area. If you use
a Rental Car then drive direction West from Orange
Walk via San Felipe
through the modern Mennonite settlement of Blue Creek, high up on the
Río Bravo embankment and further to the PFB building.

It is possible to get a accommodation on the "La Milpa and Hill Bank
field stations" they are equipped to provide board and lodging for
around 30 visitors, the PFB office can you give details.

St. Herman's
Blue Hole National Park

The St. Herman's
Blue Hole National Park (inland Blue Hole) is located 12 miles
southeast of Belmopan on the Hummingbird Highway. The Blue Hole is a
popular recreational spot, where water on its way from a tributary to
the Sibun River, emerges from a collapsed karst sinkhole.

The pool, from which the park receives
its name, is a beautiful
sapphire blue that is about twenty-five feet deep and is attracting
thousands of visitors
during the summer months. After a short run
through a natural jungle setting, the stream disappears into a large
underwater cavern.

You can easily travel cost effective by Busin
60 minutes from Belize
City to Belmopan.
From there you take a Bus to
direction South to Dangriga.
Right next to the Hummingbird Highway and
about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Belmopan you have to leaf the Bus.
There are two access points, the visitor centre/parking area for
Herman's Cave, and the lay-by just above the Blue Hole. Open
daily 8 to 4:30 pm.

If you use a Rental Car there is a sign for St. Herman’s Cave; ignore
it and continue to the main park entrance about a mile and a half (2
km) down the road. You’ll find a parking area and changing room for a
dip in the deep blue waters of the Blue Hole.

Equipment

To enjoy your stay
in the Belize Nature Parks, we recommend parts of this Equipment.

Sun screen and insect repellent

Bottle with drinking water

Small First Aid Kit with anticortizone
cream for bites

Swimmwear and sun hat

Long pants and sleeves for hiking and evenings

Light weight rain gear with hood

Hiking boots or shoes with good tread

Flash light or head lamp for Caves and in the
night

Binoculars and camera with plenty of film or
enough memory cards

Clothing in dark
colors doesn’t attract insects as much and are better camouflage for
you. It sound very obvious but shorts are not a good idea in the bush,
especially as the ankles and back of knees are the most irritating
places to get bitten, also don’t forget to put repellent on this
places.